Those that fall
by neverland300690
Summary: Beauty is eternety, gazint itself in a mirror. Its is unberable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time. Beauty was what they were looking at.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 ****- The Stranger  
**

_I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. I lived daringly; always making more mistakes than anything, just to try something new. I relaxed and limbered up whenever I wished, I was as silly and whimsical as I pleased. I took fewer things seriously and took every chance I got. I wanted to climb mountains and swim rivers – I did a few of those things too. I ate ice cream in December and before my meals. I got into a lot of trouble; most of them were my own making. I never thought of being sensible or sane. I always traveled lightly. I started barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I rode merry-go-rounds until I felt sick and danced until I couldn't anymore. I picked all the daisies my hands could hold._

_I wanted to do it all as soon as I could and not miss a thing out of life. I had seen too many people that had gone to the other world with the music still in them, because they were always getting ready to play and one day it was too late. We get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless._

_After sleeping through a hundred million centuries we have finally opened our eyes on a sumptuous planet, sparkling with color, bountiful with life. Within decades we must close our eyes again. Isn't it a noble, an enlightened way of spending our brief time in the sun, to enjoy and live our gifted life to the fullest, without regrets? Do everything, never say no – that was my way- Because later, it will be the chances you didn't take that will plague you, and not those that you did and led you to a mistake. This is how I answered when I was asked - as I was surprisingly often - why I bothered to get up in the mornings._

She had been in her garden when she had felt him calling her, exactly three days and 12 hours ago. The strange gravitational pull that told her to start running north-east and not stop until she found him. She had not even paused to think about it. As soon as she had felt it, she had sprinted on a run and hadn't stopped running until she arrived there. Her guards had had trouble in following and keeping up with her, but they knew that whenever she was to run like that, nothing would stop her. Not even the high rank ninjas that guarded her. She was a fast runner, and she knew it. She had been taught by the best.

She stopped only to rest for a few hours every time her body would refuse to move any further. She was the first to wake the next morning. She was a headstrong woman, and most of all, she was determined to have her way. And when it came to _him_, not even God could stop her from getting where he was.

Dark thoughts had plagued her mind the whole time she was traveling. He was calling for her. Why couldn't he come to her? Was he injured? Was he captured? She had 40 Shinobi with her. They were all highly dangerous men and women, 10 of which were the best medical ninjas in all of the 5 countries second only to Lady Tsunade herself. Their duty was to do whatever she required from them, bound by honor, respect and tradition. If she needed help she would give it to him by any means possible.

However she couldn't exactly barge into Konoha with 40 foreign Shinobi at her side. She gave indications for the rest of the squad to wait outside the Fire country border, only taking 5 men with her – her private guard. Still, even so, their numbers caused a bit of a stir, as she had rightly imagined they would. As soon as she crossed the border, she fell into a normal walk crossing her arms under her cloak and her personal guard falling into step with her, a few feet behind. She could hear the leafs hushing in the wind, but she knew that the lullaby was not from their melody. The AMBU squads were seconds from ambushing them. She led up a hand and despite her Commanders protests, she walked a few feet in front of her Shinobi and waited with closed eyes.

She didn't have to wait for long. The only indication that she was surrounded was the slight brush of air against her skin. She opened her eyes slowly to meet the porcelain faces of assassins in front of her. Faithful to her indications, her guard had not stirred.

"Forgive us for our intruding into your country. If you allow me, I have permission for doing so." In normal circumstances, she would have probably been dead, but this was not the first time that she crossed the border unannounced. She separated her hands and very slowly offered a small red scroll to the porcelain-faced assassin in front of her. The scroll and the assassin disappeared before she could blink. She put her hands together again and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down and concentrate on the pull on her chest. She was almost aching to run again to him, but she had to be patient – patience was crucial if you were face to face with the deadliest shinobi Konoha had to offer. The missing AMBU returned and he signalized the others to stand down.

"A message announcing your visit has been send. You are to head for the north gate. A team will meet you halfway, with a message from the Hokage."

"Thank you." She bowed her head in respect, her long corvine hair falling around her face like a heavy curtain and the animal-masked shinobi did the same. The AMBU captain stepped aside to let her and her guard pass thought. She was out of their sight much faster than they had expected her to be, taking her five silent shinobi with her.

As she speeded out of their sight, she left with the AMBU all her irritation at them. She needed to focus on her strength, that was indeed coming to a middle… but not yet to an end, not yet.

"That insufferable old hag! That … that…" Kiba had been going at this for so long that he seemed to have run out of insults for their honored Hokage. Hinata had stopped trying to calm him down a good half an hour ago… but every now and then she tried to placate him still.

"I mean, why did she have to send us? We are _shinobi_! We are _fighters_! Not _messengers_!" He spit the word out like it was dirt as their group ran fast on the main road. Akamaru was starting to become restless as well – mostly from his masters whining, but also because he had to give up a good meal that had been surely to come had they not been summoned to the Hokage's office. They had thought it was a mission, but they were wrong. And now they were stuck waiting for some woman to show up.

"Kiba, do you smell anything?" Hinata asked her grouchy teammate, who grumbled a vexed no. When the wind was in the right direction, he could smell for miles on end , and today was their lucky day. As she heard his answer, she felt a little bad for her moody friend.

"We are the best tracker team Kiba. It should be important if she wanted us to find this stranger." Hinata said as she scanned the roads ahead of her for miles with her Byakugan, seeing nothing but trees and occasional civilians. Shino nodded his agreement with the logic of his teammate.

"They just crossed the Fire border one hour ago. Even at this pace, it will be at least three to four hours more before we meet them, depending on how fast they are moving." Shino said apathetically. In his pocket was the scroll they were instructed to deliver. Even thought he too was a little irked that he was being used as a simple messenger, he couldn't help but wonder what was in that scroll and who was it that was supposed to receive it. It should be a fairly important person since Tsunade had send her best tracking team so that the stranger wouldn't pass the gates of Konoha without first reading it. The Hokage had been very firm on that particular point, giving one of her fixed stars to them that made their spine straighten a little more.

It would be another hour of furious running before Hinata suddenly stopped and called out to the two boys to do the same.

"I see them. Five miles ahead of us, on the main road. They are six, five shinobi and one woman that doesn't seem to be a kuinochi. They…" She stopped and her friend turned an inquisitive look at her.

"What?" Kiba voiced, as always.

"Two of them are from Konoha – their bands have the leaf sign. The others have no identification signs. And they're fast. _Very_ fast. Even the woman… If we keep running we'll meet them in a matter of minutes." Shino threw an inquisitive look at his friend, one she couldn't see behind the half hidden face, but she felt the questions coming from him in the way he was turned to her. She just shrugged and saw him nod.

"Ok let get this over with. I'm hungry." Kiba yelled and Akamaru barked to support his master's opinion. They launched themselves forward, both with the same growl and indeed ten minutes after, they were face to face with the five men squad. The ninja were all wearing the same heavy white cloaks, their hoods pulled down so that their faces were visible. They all had the same indifferent look on their faces, and they all seemed to have more than one scar visible, even on their faces. The woman however had her hood up, hiding the upper half of her face and her cloak had some symbols at the borders, looking like fire tongues and elaborate snowflakes. When she pulled down her hood, the raven hair flew out in the wind.

She saw the group of three approach. At first she was a little perplexed at the large beast that accompanied them and her Commander quickly stepped before her as they slowed down. But in the moment that it took her to take in the overgrown dog, a boy appeared at its side that was undoubtedly the master. For the life of her she couldn't remember the name of the clan in Konoha that fought with dogs. Then she saw the Hyuga girl with pupilless pearly eyes and the one that was unmistakably an Aburame boy, but the way he was dressed, but mostly by the glasses. She figured that there was nothing to fear and sidestepped her Commander, placing a light hand on is massive shoulder, silently willing him to relax. She knew better than to judge them by their young age, but she also know that if she were unwelcome in Konoha, the Hokage would have send someone else to tell her so. Someone that would have taken more pleasure in kicking her out.

"Good morning." She said as she stepped in front of them, with a little bow of her head. The all gave a stiff nod with their heads and she barely contained a smile.

_Shinobis… Always so careful._

"You must be the Hokage's scouts. We were expecting to meet you." She didn't notice how the little nerve on Kiba's forehead twitched at the mention of thee word '_scouts'_. The Aburame stepped forward at her words and when he spoke, his deep voice was low but carried to her just fine.

"The Hokage said that you were to be escorted back at the village, and that we were to give you this." She took the scroll from him, careful not to touch him. Aburames never appreciated being touched, she remembered that well. She read the scroll and this time she couldn't contain a little smile. Lady Tsunade was still the same volatile woman she remembered from childhood. As she read on though, she felts her shoulders relax and her whole body let go of a burden that she hadn't realized it was carrying. With a genuine smile she turned at the teens that brought her the scroll and thanked them. Then she turned back to her men.

"Shika," The tall, lanky man with fire red hair and a scar along his jaw line stepped forward at her call. "Please go back to Ando and Kasha, thank them for me and tell them that their help is not needed any longer. Show this to the AMBU at the front line." The woman gave a small pin to the shinobi, who disappeared immediately.

"We should continue. I am in a bit of a hurry, excuse my impatience." At this she sprinted forward followed by her team, not bothering to wait for the leaf ninjas, knowing they would tail after her and catch up with her group in no time. She didn't stop before reaching the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village. Only at the sight of the high columns she slowed her pace and let out a heavy breath. At the sight of the village, a strange swell of joy came over her and she almost felt like crying. She had spent an important part of her life inside those gates. It was not her home, not by birth, but it was the closest to it, by love. All she had ever loved had lived inside that village. Most of what she had lost, had been lost to it as well.

She calmed her emotions and as she felt herself slip back to her own self, she concentrated on the pull in her chest. Now that she knew he was not in danger, she could take the time to make herself presentable before she went to him. It had been a long time since she had seen his face - she wanted to be liked once he saw hers. Willing herself to snap out of her reverie, she turned to the leaf ninjas as she felt them come closer.

"Do you know if by any chance the Soyuri tea-house still in business?" She looked at them in turns and it was the boy with the red marks on his face that spoke.

"Yeah, they are." He responded offhandedly and the Hyuga girl threw a disapproving look at him. She felt her Commander twitch at her side but she spoke before he could lash out at the young man for being disrespectful. Herself, she was quite amused by his behavior – he was making her feel at home right away. She stopped herself from smiling at his antics.

"I have not been in Konoha for a long time now – would you mind giving me the address?" This time the Hyuga spoke, before the other boy opened his mouth.

"It's down Shodaime street, number seven. You will surely see it; it has a big green table outside, with the menu of the day." Hinata responded smoothly and saw the woman nod in understanding. Then the stranger turned her back on the teenagers and as if her group was gravitating around her, they moved in sync with her. Kiba scowled at her back. She seemed to him as a snob and nothing more and he didn't like her one bit. Who was she anyways? As he was about to turn to his team and propose to get something to shove down their stomachs, he heard her voice again.

"Inuzuka. Am I right?" Kiba turned to stare at the woman, his whole posture and expression oozing surprise and confusion and of course, defiance.

"What?"

"You are an Inuzuka are you not?" She asked again, fixing him with her wide hazel eyes that at some point started to look like burgundy-colored, almost making him squirm a little. He blinked back at her in confusion.

"Yeah. So?" his tone was one of challenge. He was having trouble understanding this person. He heard Shino mutter '_Idiot'_ under his breath and made a mental note to kick his sorry ass for it later. He hadn't finished his mental note when a sweet smile came from the woman.

"I was sure you were."

_It was foolish of me to forget…_ she thought. _How could I forget that name_…

She was a little ashamed of herself that she did, but of course, names weren't exactly the highest priority the last time she had met one of the dog-masters clan.

"I only just remembered now that Inuzukas are the clan that love four-legged animals most in this village. Send my best regards to Konoha's Claw when you see her. Tell her that Ayana of the Snow is back." Kiba only blinked in her direction but shrugged it off soon enough. Too many people knew his mother, it was not worth troubling over, especially not with an empty stomach.

"So, Hinata, want to go grab a quick lunch?" He waited for his friend to respond but he only received a reproachful look from her. "What!" He asked, genuinely surprised and unaware of his wrong.

"You shouldn't have addressed her so disrespectfully Kiba. She is obviously an honorable guest of our village… _And_ she knows your mother!" Hinata said, but with a softer look. She did not like to lecture people, nor did she want to upset her impulsive teammate – she knew his emotions were easily swayed.

"Everyone knows my mother." Kiba said, almost pouting at his midnight-haired friend. Hinata rolled her eyes at him, but not without a little shake of the head and a small smile. He could be such a blockhead sometimes.

"Besides, there was nothing special about her anyways. She could be just one more client for all we know." Kiba observed, not wanting to add that to him, she was undoubtedly a very vain client and wishing with all his might that he wasn't picked for whatever mission she was in Konoha for.

"She might be. However, clients usually do not get personal messages from the Hokage. Whoever she is, she is still a civilian female, and you were your usually uncivilized self, dogbreath." Shino said quietly. Hearing his teammate speak brought back to Kiba the side note of wanting to kick his butt, but as he was raising his fist and glaring at Shino, Hinata grabbed his sleeve and started pulling at him.

"Come on." She said softly, with the hint of a smile. "You'll be much more reasonable once your stomach is full." At that Kiba relaxed and followed his friend willingly, the three of them finally stepping inside the village doors, Hinata walking in between the two boys.

It took her exactly 10 minutes to clean up the dirt of the road and get dressed in fresh clothes. Almost all her clothing were white or bordering on different shades of cream - it was the traditional color of the mountains. But she had carefully saved some dresses from her days in the leaf village. She chose one and put it on, fastening the white silk jacket over it that glided like water around her, long enough to almost touch the ground. When out in the street, she signaled her guards to keep relatively far from her and they obeyed wordlessly. The tall woman walked through the streets of the village silently. She chose the less crowded areas, but it was difficult for her not to get lost. So many things had changed – it had grown bigger, more alive and more colorful than she remembered it. She was too taken with the anxiety of finding him to think about anything else, but she knew that had she had a choice, she wouldn't have come here again. It was much too difficult, too painful to look at everything and remember all the los and pain.

But she would always come to him when she felt he needed her thought - no matter where he was, she would always find him. In sight of that connection, everything else seemed to face in the background, even her fears. It was a special connection they shared, one he had made possible: he somehow found a way to let her know when he needed her or what he needed her to do for him. And she always did it, always tried to please him, to make him happy. As she thought now about the nagging feeling in her chest, she couldn't quite understand it right. It wasn't like the other times. It was not as painful as when Minato died and not as hollow as when the Third passed away. The continuing sense of loss was always there as he has lost so much in his life…

But this time it wasn't about his need to have her comfort. This time it felt more like… confusion and it had a sense of finality to it, so much that it wretched her heart. She could feel that he missed her, that he wanted to see her, but she couldn't sense why – she always was able to pinpoint the reasons for his calls. The feeling left a yearning in her chest that hurt almost physically. But mostly, it scared the wits out of her. It was not the first time this connection somewhat frustrated her senses, nor was it the first time that it brought her fear. She held on to that and to the knowledge that he was all right, to keep herself calm and collected. Her steps grew quicker as she felt herself draw nearer to where he was.

She followed her instinct to find him and it lead her near the forest. She felt the stab in her chest get stronger, almost as something was clenching at her heart. His distress must be great… At the edge of the village, near the forest, she was met with a few ninjas that were obviously training. The were not wearing any special uniforms, but from experience, she estimated their skills to be at least above Chunin, or maybe Jonin. They were sparring – only taijutsu. Even she could tell that they were quite good.

Then she saw him, under a tree, seated, his arms crossed over his broad powerful chest, his head lowered, silver hair blowing in the wind. She sighed despite herself, in actually _seeing_ that at least he was physically all right. In that precise moment his eyes rose up as if drawn by her presence and he saw her. She noted how he froze and his eyes widened before he got up swiftly, in one fluid motion. None of the other fighters had noticed her, since she was not entirely visible yet. They were ninjas after all, so their primary targets remained the ones with the power to fight them back. She presented no such threat. But she knew that he would be able to find her in a battlefield, just like she had found him half across the world and got to him in less than 3 days.

She approached the training ground slowly, her step easy, unhurried at first, and then quicker as she drew closer. Jiraiya just stood there, unmoving, his eyes fixed on her figure as she smiled to him sweetly. She felt the unnerving feeling in her chest dissolve, but the pull towards him remained and ached a little. If it was still their connection to do that, or simply the fact that she had missed him terribly, she didn't know. But she was grateful that she didn't feel the clench in her gut anymore. It was much too tiresome a feeling – dealing with you own emotions and someone else's too at the same time, in the space of the same body can be much more troublesome than it first sounds. At that thought a surge of guilt enveloped her. If she felt burdened by the feeling he was merely projecting on her, she could only imagine how _he_ felt…

She noticed the intent stare of a pair of eyes as she walked by and she couldn't blame them. She knew that she didn't look like she was from around and she hadn't intended to. She looked at the students fleetingly, not wanting to make a show of herself more than she was already doing. When she turned again, Jiraiya was a few feet from her and she could tell from his warm look that he was glad to see her there. He had been expecting her, they both knew. He _wanted_ her there.

"Good morning." He said as he extended both his large hands to her. She put her own pale ones in his without hesitation and instantly felt better as she realized that she was by his side. She felt happy to be there, but not as light as his presence usually made her feel. She still did not know why she had been called to him, why he had been suffering. But she couldn't help the happiness bubbling in her, the need to just put her arms around his broad chest and let him hold her there, like he did when she was a child. The feeling of being completely safe in his arms never changed.

"Yes, indeed it is a good morning." She spoke softly and looked at the sky. It was clear and the sun was incredibly warm for March. Spring was her favorite season in Konoha. Everything bloomed with new life. Is was different here from the spring in the mountains. There, it seemed like everything was reborn – every spring was a new life, a bright second chance. In Konoha it was a natural circle. Life bloomed in layers there, present over the past, both touching each other – you had to rebuild on what was there, work with it. there was no tabula rasa here.

"I came as soon as I could. I had a feeling you needed me with you." She said looking into his eyes intently, trying to decipher his look. He looked… indecipherable. Every thought he must be having was soothed under the bright smile he was giving her as she searched his eyes for answers that he was unwilling to give. He let a moment pass before answering.

"Yes, I did. As always, your feelings never fail you. For how long have you been traveling?" He sounded a little worried, but she knew better than to fall for that one. He wanted to avoid the real reason why she was by his side, she was sure, but she was not one to let go without a fight.

"Nearly 3 days. I have been well taken care of and remembered your teachings the entire time. Will you now like to tell me what has been worrying you mind?" Jiraiya smiled. She knew that smile – it was one he had on when he was caught doing something he shouldn't be doing. Immediately she regretted pushing him. Hadn't she learned already? It was nice to think that after so much time she knew how to act with him, how to read him, but she was proved wrong more often than not. So many times before she had stayed close to him even when he didn't give a reason for her to be there, even when he didn't explain or share his thoughts. She stayed because she felt needed. She had accepted it that way without giving it much importance, after all it really didn't matter to her as long as he was happy. She scolded herself harshly once she felt shame at his expression. This time was no different - she had no reason to be so agitated.

"Wait, I take that back." She said as she squeeze his hand a little, smiling at him apologetically. "Instead, I'd like you to take me somewhere nice and tell me something exciting."

"Of course. And then after that, you should meet someone." She looked intently at him, as if she wanted to read his mind through his eyes. Then she nodded her agreement and took his arm with a smile.

"I would very much enjoy some tea actually." She said in a peaceful tone and took his arm, holding on to him. She could have her tea, he could have his lunch, and he would tell her about the mutual friends she hadn't seen in a long time and maybe later she could even go and meet them. Of her true old friends in Konoha, few were still alive, to her great sorrow. However, there was still Iruka. She smiled at the thought of him. She had missed Iruka so much that now that she was so close to seeing him, it was making her tingly with excitement. And Gai of course! Oh, yes, she missed Gai too, he had always been able to make her laugh, no matter what – even when she was near tears. Those two had always been good friends to her, no matter how difficult the situation was for her.

"Tsunade is going to be happy to meet you again." Jiraya said offhandedly, but she caught the little shake in his voice and hardly contained a smile.

"Is that so?"

"Of course. She hasn't see you since you were… what was it, seventeen?" He saw her nod and the glint in her deep hazel eyes didn't escape him.

"So, my dearest, what is it that she is threatening you with this time?" She asked, her eyes practically dancing with hidden mirth.

"Well…" He gulped a little at the memory. "She said that she would break every bone in my body, heal it and then break it again for the next 48 hours… And she specifically noted that she would not be choosy about the vitals." He gulped a little. To anyone else, the threat would have sound superfluous and they would have probably laughed at it, thinking it a joke. But shinobi took threats very seriously and furthermore, Jiraya he knew better than ignore one that came from the a certain blonde woman – experience had taught him that his old teammate had a knack for keeping her promises accurately… to the very smallest detail.

"I am quite sure I do not want to know why she would attempt such a thing." She said, her face serious.

"Oh, never thought that maybe it was only a boring day at the office?" Jiraya mumbled, a bit irked that even Ayana was so quick to dam him as the guilty party. Ayana on the other hand seemed to seriously consider the suggested possibility before answering. But she shrugged it off elegantly.

"Well, as far as I remember, she has always had a very vivid imagination – and quite a flare for torturing you." She waited until he had gulped down his tea before continuing. "But you make it so easy darling, pinning after her like a lovesick puppy that you are." He gave a mischievous, if not warning, smile and she chuckled, before remembering something suddenly.

"Oh, and maybe I should warn you about something… I was a little worried, so I took other shinobi with me, besides my personal guards. We were about 40 in total." Jiraiya snorted in his tea, some of it sputtering out of his nose, earning a reproachful look from the old lady that came to serve him his lunch. She refrained from chuckling at his reaction.

"The shinobi at the border must have thought they were under attack!" He breathed out.

"Oh, yes. We traveled separately in small formations of course and I crossed the Fire country border with only Ryu's team, but an AMBU squad was already waiting for us." He suddenly was very serious, but she made an impatient gesture with her hand, as if his worry was a bothersome fly. "It was fine. I sent the other shinobi home. Just thought that you should know before Tsunade starts grilling you for meatballs."

"Yes of course." He said and then after he took a god look at her, he smirked and his eyes gleamed.

"Yes?" She asked, expecting him to explain himself.

"You know the people I wanted you to meet…" She gave a little nod. "Well, they are staring at us from the other side of the road." Jiraiya said, as he stuffed his face carelessly. He couldn't care less if anyone stared at him, in fact he liked it. On the other hand, even thought it used to make her uncomfortable, was got used to it a long time ago - but still couldn't help stealing a glance in the direction he had pointed, the smile that he put on her face still there. As her eyes met clear blue ones, she all but froze, and stopped breathing altogether as the smile melted off her lips.

"Oh my…"

Naruto was settling himself on the table loudly as Sakura, Kakashi and Sai came after him, exchanging the same looks at his behavior. Naruto could grow as tall as a 200 years old oak, but the thing that would make him talk in normal volume would be yet to be discovered.

"Sooo, I will have…"

"Ramen!" the other three chorused for him, and Naruto gave them his big grin. The others ordered much more silently, and as they waited, Naruto found it hard not to be his talking self. He was, at one point, trying to talk and eat at the same time, much to his bad luck… because he had almost forgotten that Sakura Haruno was standing right next to him.

"… and then I blocked his kick and the idiot had left his left side completely open, ya know, and I jumped and landed the punch of the year right on his di…" Sakura's punch crushed loudly over the table – that creaked as if it was a live being moaning in pain - and she closed her eyes trying to calm herself. The sight of the little nerve twitching in her forehead was enough to make anyone shut up. So the blonde ninja showed some common sense and shut it, continuing to gulp his food down, as he scanned the street for nothing in particular… And then he choked on his noodles, making a slightly sickening slurping noise and coughing out s bit of broth.

Something he had never thought he would see in his lifetime was happening right across the street...

His sensei, Jiraiya, the most perverted man he had ever met – the man that he was sure would screw anything with breasts - was with a woman, and not just _any_ woman… She was really pretty too… And they were _talking_. And the woman was not screaming or lunging for a punch or a kick that would send his balls up his throat - she was _smiling_. Naruto couldn't help but stare. The pervy sage was being utterly unlike himself. He was being…

_No way… He is being polite? No _freaking_ way! _

"Naruto, close your mouth, you disgusting idiot! You're making my appetite disappear!" Sakura said, scrunching her nose in disgust.

But for once, Naruto didn't even hear her and kept staring. So Sakura followed her friend's look, wondering what was so entrancing and then she stopped and her jaw dropped too.

She had never seen Jiraiya act anything but insolent with women, for as long as she had known him. And from what she had heard from Tsunade, he had been like that since he was young. It seemed so impossible that the 50-or-so year old man that spied at women when they were bathing, the man that took pride in writing those obnoxious books, the man that made comments about certain anatomy parts of every female that walked by him, was capable of decency. That was the same man who she had caught playing '_doctors' _(as he had put it) with one of the nurses in an empty OR a couple of months back – an image that had literally burned her retinas giving her the migraine of a lifetime (she got the fact that they had both been butt naked - even thought she had loved her life more when she didn't know what _exactly_ the Toad Master looked like _down_ _there _- but she had had no idea that such a position was even possible!). Well, _that_ man was having a normal conversation with a beautiful woman, who even seemed to be enjoying herself… Her mind refused to accept it. It must be an gejutsu of some sort! She even tried to dispel it, but it wouldn't work… So it was indeed real…

A part of her brain, a very masochistic part, involuntarily compared what she was seeing now with the image of her Master Hermit in the OR and she winced, grossed out and a little frightful for the honor of the fragile-looking porcelain-faced woman talking to the sannin. Nurse Juri had always had a slightly _loud_ attitude and look, with her very pronounced hourglass figure and really tight uniforms, but the brunette talking to the sannin now couldn't be more different. She looked sweet, almost innocent, like a girl. Sakura was sure that the woman wouldn't get attacked by Jiraya against her will anytime soon, but still in her imagination, compared to the Legendary Ninja, the woman was a small kitten in Sakura's eyes.

The woman smiled sweetly to something Jiraiya said and Sakura resisted her urge to rub her eyes in disbelief. It seemed so strange that someone like her was in good terms with someone like Jiraiya. Apparently, there was more to the perverted man than just a bad sense of humor and a filthy mind... She felt a little smile creep on her lips despite everything - she was actually a little happy for him. If he could be decent, than good for him, right?

Like a well-bred young lady that she was, she realized that she was staring and quickly turned around, only to find her companions staring intently at the couple too. Even Sai had stopped eating and was looking at the woman attentively, as if he was calculating her.

"Stop staring you morons!" She whispered violently. Sai turned around slowly, but Naruto didn't. His look was now concentrated, as if he was thinking hard about something.

"She doesn't look like anyone I've seen before. She is probably a civilian and judging from her attire she must be from the east, possibly the Great Mountains – thought her features are far too dark to support this theory." Sai said flatly.

"Something about her face is a little familiar…" Naruto said under his breath as he watched intently the woman's face. There was definitely something there, something familiar about the way she smiled. He knew that he had seen her face somewhere before, but he didn't remember where.

"Hey, where did Kakashi sensei go?" Sakura asked, surprised that her teacher wasn't there anymore.

"He left just now." Sai answered. Then he turned to Naruto to ask him something and he saw him go from normally colored to red like a tomato. Naruto lowered his eyes and busied himself eating.

"Please don't tell me she caught you staring!" Sakura growled low but Naruto just kept eating his ramen, still red-faced. He had been so surprised that even after the woman locked her dark eyes with his, he had not lowered his gaze for a few seconds.

"You _idiot_!"

She knew those eyes as well as she knew her own. They brought another face back from her memories. The face of someone that used to take her for really really fast piggyback rides through the village when she was nine. It had been he that had first tried to teach her Chakra control, despite all the others trying to persuade him otherwise. He had been an amazing teacher – the best – even though Jiraya never accepted this, mostly because he was of the opinion that she was too influenced by her crush on him to judge fairly. She did in fact have a major crush on him, for the longest of times. It had turned into a different kind of love.

The kid that had been staring at her had the same eyes as his father. Her memories of Minato Namikaze were of a man, but she had seen pictures of him when he was younger… And it seemed like his child had copied his father's features for his own, even thought his jaw was a bit more squared than Minato's narrower one – even thought not less handsome… Besides, the boy looked like he was almost a man himself!

She kept her eyes on the boys face and watched him blush furiously and lower his blue eyes to his food again. She turned to look at Jiraiya.

"I never knew they were so alike. Its… amazing!" She watched Jiraiya smirk in his food.

"Looks are the only thing those two have in common. His _character,_ however…"

"Oh, I cannot imagine him as anything but charming." She said with resolutely, forbidding him to speak another word of wrong against the blonde boy. "And if he is anything like his parents, I'm quite sure that he is more than a worthy shinobi." She smiled wider and turned to Jiraiya, noticing that he had the most wicked grin on.

"What is the matter?" She asked. He didn't respond but kept smiling. He was sure now that Naruto would win her over, just like he seemed to win over everyone around him. Maybe with her it would even be easier – she had had such an infatuation with Minato that even without knowing the blond blockhead that was his son, he had already won half her heart. And if things went his way, she would attach herself here again and decide to stay in Konoha a little longer, despite the odds. It had always been her wish to go, even thought the third and the fourth had granted her permission to stay in the village. He was sure Tsunade had no objections with her staying in Konoha, but the subject was yet to arise.

"Let's go and say hello shall we?"

"But… Jiraya!" But he would have none of it as he stood up and headed for the table where the two boys and the girl were seated. She told herself that she was following him because she had to, out of politeness, but truthfully, she wanted to meet the blond one.

"Hey, there guys. Grabbing a quick lunch?" Jiraiya said and the three of them got up to greed the newcomers.

"Good day Jiraiya sensei." Sakura said and then turned to the woman and bowed her head to her. There was just something in the woman's step, in the way she held herself, that made Sakura want to show good manners towards her. "Good day miss."

"Hello to you too." The woman said bowing her head in return, dark brown hair shining under the sun.

"We were to have lunch with Kakashi sensei. He was here a moment ago, but he has disappeared apparently." Sakura explained to the Sannin who smirked slyly for a moment, before proceeding with the introductions. Her eyes followed their faces as he gave out their names.

"I'm glad to meet you. My name is Ayana." A few seconds of uncomfortable silence echoed her words.

"Hello Ayana! Welcome to Konoha!" Naruto yelled grinning widely and punched the air, like his usual self. Sakura looked at him as if she was ready to kill him. Ayana stared at him briefly, a strange look on her face before grinning right back at him.

"Thank you, Naruto. You are very kind." The boy, who now was almost a man, blushed at her words. Then he turned to his teacher, making an inquisitive face at him and asked the question that was in everybody's mind, but that – as usual – only he dared to voice out loud.

"How come you're not being your usual pervy self with a beautiful woman like her, eh Jiraiya?" He asked putting his hands behind his head and pinning his sensei with an accusatory look. But before he could do anything else, he was punched to the ground by Sakura, who apologized to the woman about her friends rudeness.

"This is one of those rare times in which I'm glad you are Tsunade's apprentice, Sakura." Jiraiya said looking amused as Naruto sniffled and tried to get up, rubbing the back of his head. But to everyone's surprise, Ayana bend down to help Naruto up, taking him by the elbow gently. She knew that he probably needed no help, but she wanted to show him that she did not mind his words.

"Brother, I think you have found a worthy apprentice in this boy." She said and Naruto stared at her in surprise, forgetting all about the throbbing pain in his head.

"Brother? You are his _sister_?" He sputtered as he watched her face. There was no resemblance at all between the wide, kind hazel eyes of the woman and the suspicious, pointy black eyes of the sannin. Or between her small elegant nose and his big, slightly deformed one (thought that might very well be from all the times he had broken it). She had dark hair, almost black that contrasted with her snowy, unblemished skin, while his hair was white and his skin made of multiple layers of sunburns, rugged and adorned with little scars here and there like every other shinobi. The only thing they had in common was their height – not that the woman was as tall as Jiraya (the man was easily one of the tallest person Naruto had ever laid eyes on), but she was tall for a woman.

"I am not by blood of course, but he prefers me calling him that. Makes him feel young." Ayana responded, giving a teasing look to Jiraya, both wearing a smile that seemed to give some more meaning to the statement, as if it were a private joke. It was then that the little light-bulb in Naruto's brain went on.

"_That's_ where I saw you! There was a picture of the two of you in his bag… But…" He stopped as he furrowed his brows in concentration. He had indeed seen a picture of her. He had found it accidentally, when he was looking for that kunai that the pervy sage had borrowed from him and 'forgotten' to return it – _again_! The familiarity of the smile was undeniable now, not to mention the clothing and the hair. He didn't remember it that well really, but he did remember that he had see a young woman staring back at him from that photograph, much like the one that was now in front of him… and a _young_ Jiraya also. Not the sun-raged face that was growling at him right now. In the picture, both of them were quite young. This part was slightly confusing to him… but maybe he just hadn't been paying attention.

Wait a sec… The pervy sage was growling at him… like, lips pulled back and snarling, the whol package…

_Oh-oh_… Jiraya hated when people rummaged through his private things – which, by the way, was so totally unfair since the pervert's favorite hobby was spying on naked wom…

_This is not the time for that, idiot! Focus! _

A little voice inside his head yelled at him in Sakura's voice as he started to get diverted. He supposed that voice belonged to his usually ignored sense of self-preservation.

_Oh crap!_

"You have gone through my stuff?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly at his teacher's bewilderment, looking guilty as sin and rubbing the back of his head as he backed a few steps.

"Well… It was your own fault! I need my kunai back, you old thief!"

Ayana found herself smiling at him for no reason – his grin was contagious for her. She had missed that kind of smile. Oh, he was so much like Minato… But he acted like he was a male version of Kushina! She first realized this as he welcomed her loudly in his village a few moments earlier. She had barely fought the urge to burst laughing. Instead, she just returned his welcome with a grin of her own.

Now she understood why Jiraiya had said that the only thing Naruto had in common with his father was the way he looked. And even thought she had loved Minato very much, she was sure that she would easily learn to love Naruto for who he was.


	2. Chapter 2

****************

****

****

******AN: **_Ryo means Dragon in Japanese, and there's a reason why he is named like that... which will come up sooner or later. Thanks for reading!_

****

Chapter 2 – Ayana Of The Snow

_here is the deepest secret nobody knows_

_(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud_

_and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows_

_higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)_

_and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart_

_i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)_

The only reason Sakura didn't do both Naruto's and Jiraya's face in by now, was because she was too embarrassed to do so. They were making fools of themselves – in the middle of the day – in the middle of the street – in front of a woman that had a very distinct way of making one stand on one's toes with simply standing there, looking so incredibly… unnerving in her coolness! Sakura had long since stopped trying to impress people, but that streak in her that wanted so badly for people to acknowledge her, simply refused to be ignored. But as teacher and apprentice began running around the ramen stand shouting obscenities at each other that made her flinch… well it was just too much.

"How so?" She threw a honestly searching glance to his sun rugged face and saw that familiar expression that always made her want to groan out loud in a most unladylike fashion. "Stop." She said holding up her pale hand as he opened his mouth to spout off another idiotic lie – like the ones she had been able to see thought since she was ten. "I most certainly do not desire to hear it."

"Because he would wake up to find his kidney missing, that why! Granny Tsunade has forbidden his entry in the hospital, he-he!" Naruto was up and about, shaking the dust off his clothes as he hadn't been pounded in a few times.

"As if that would keep him out, the old pervert." Sakura huffed not meant to be heard, all her light manners through to the wind. Who was she kidding, she was a kuinochi and a freaking good one now, a strong woman, not a damsel.

"Yes indeed, restraining orders have been known not to work." Ayana murmured in return. As they got under the shade of the little Ramen stand, Ayana delicately turned her attention to the pink haired girl, politely smiling in her direction to mask her curiosity.

"That was quite some display you made." She said not masking the awe in her voice, but keeping low on other feelings. She saw the girl blush and momentarily gape at her so Ayana quickly mended her statement.

"You have an amazing talent, you should be proud. I have to admit, from the frail look of you one could not expect such strength. That would work to your advantage in most confrontations." Sakura was still blushing, but this time it was from pleasure at being complimented on her skill. She did not pin after recognition anymore as she grew more confident, but hearing such a thing from a complete stranger had its effect on her. She knew she still wanted to be good to impress, but truly she wanted to be as good as those around her always seemed to be. Like Naruto… Like Sas…

"It would be," She said quietly, as she sat on the woman's left. "But I'm mostly to keep out of the first line… Mostly." Ayana absorbed this quickly and pieced it with the information she had previously gathered about the petite girl.

"Of course," she said before the teen could continue. "You're a medic. I should have realized sooner. As Tsunade's apprentice, you could be little else." Ayana added with a smile and saw the girl nod.

_And nothing short of impressive I'm sure. How else would you have convinced the stubborn woman to take you in…_

"How is Shizune doing? I believe she still never leave Tsunade's side, does she?" Ayana asked now slipping more and more into comfortableness.

"Oh, she is her personal assistant now."

"Do send her my greetings when you see her please… And might I enquire as to how is your head is feeling?" Ayana said suddenly turning to her left to see Naruto, who was at the moment finishing off his first bawl of ramen with quite an enthusiasm. She stared at him for a moment and gulped, her eyes wide as he tried to act decent and smile with his mouth full. She barely managed her faint smile in reply. Naruto noticed how the woman froze and he thought it was because of less than pleasing table manners, as he had been told so many times by Sakura.

"I really like ramen." He said as if it would excuse him. The fact was that… it did…

"I like ramen too. Love it really. When I lived in Konoha, I used to come here every week with a friend and were would have as much as we could eat, until our tummies ached." At this Jiraya, who had intently studding her face, turned his gaze at the menu, his profile a blur behind his shaggy hair. Naruto only gave the widest grin she had ever seen, not without a noticeable hint of mischief, and it almost caught her breath.

"You reminded me of her… very much…" She breathed out. As she was about to say something else – and as Naruto was about to express his indignant feelings about reminding her of a _girl_ - another voice interrupted her for once and she turned to look right ahead, to this smiling face of the old man that had been there as long as she could remember.

"Well well, look what the fox dragged in." The old man said with a wide smile as he handed her the bowl of her second favorite dish, which she took with both of hers and with an equal smile. "I thought Id have to pass on the other side before I ever saw you again Miss Ayana. But I am glad that I see you from this part of the world once more. You are the spitting image of your beloved mother, I must say."

Ayana chuckled as she took her chopsticks. "I wasn't really dragged in, but you could say that in a metaphorical sense I suppose." She teased lightly and the old man smiled.

"Well then, how have you been?" He asked and she took her queue.

"I have been keeping my promise, old man." She saw the way his eyes sparkled and she took a mouthful of noodles. The very first of that particular dish since the last time she had left Konoha, as she had promised. Maybe she had been secretly hoping that she would return one day, knowing that no matter how hard she ran, her destiny would lead her back there. Or maybe because that particular dish would never taste as good as it did in this simple stand, here in Konoha.

"How is it?"

She looked up at him with shiny eyes, thinking of the blonde boy by her side and missing someone else. "It's just as good as ever." She said as she smiled.

"You used to live in Konoha?" Sakura asked carefully. She didn't mean to be nosy or anything and she was indeed curious, but neither was the reason why she asked. She was just making conversation. She felt at ease in the ramen stand, it was her normal environment. Besides, the stranger woman had created an such an easygoing atmosphere… thought Sakura found it hard to imagine a strained situation with Naruto in it - thought the blond could make things rather awkward sometimes.

"Yes, for a short time, during the third war." And knowing that there would be more questions on the matter she clarified before they could arise. "My village was attacked and I was forced to leave it for a period of time, like many refugees from war zones commonly do. But things calmed and I was eventually able to go back." She took a gulp of the warm broth and felt her insides warm and almost purred in content. This was the first moment that she felt she was truly back. The next thing to do was make sure she paid her respect to her friends.

It was only after two more bowls that the blond boy could lean back and compliment old man Ichiraku for his wonderful cooking. By that time, Ayana knew Naruto lived in a shoebox, that he loved to talk about his sparring matches, that he had defeated the village resident prodigy in his chunnin exam – this tale came in very detailed description and was more than once corrected by Sakura, but mostly to tell him to keep it down and stop bragging about it. She also came to know that the pink haired was a greatly skilled medic, even thought this particular thing was a deduction on her part. But considering how often her name came up when Naruto went on about this broken bone or that internal bleeding, Ayana was convinced she was right in her assumption. As Naruto was going on about just how painful it feels to have your solar plexus crushed by a really good aimed kick, Ayana chuckled a little, with no seeming outward reason.

"I'm sorry, I do not take pleasure from your pain." She said quickly at the confused look on his face. "But it seems to me that the only reason you are still in one piece is because is lovely young lady is so talented in her job of keeping you that way." She glanced sideways at the pink haired girl who rolled her eyes, but smiled amiable nonetheless.

"Well, yeah! I know _that_! The hospital would probably just get tired of me going in twice a day and would just throw me out."

"Actually, he heals really fast, so he has no problem most of the time. It's with broken bones that he should be careful with, but it's like talking to a wall!" Sakura said frustrated and Ayana had the feeling that this was a discussion they had had before.

"Yeah, like that time that my arm didn't heal really well and Sakura had to break it again to heal it properly. Man, that _hurt_…" Naruto said wincing a little at the memory, not coming off very gracefully as he was still eating.

"Serves you right, carless idiot." Said torturer murmured dangerously.

"You should know Naruto, that no matter how good Sakura is, injuries remain and the more you injure yourself, the more…" Ayana way cut short as Naruto hurryingly sucked the noodles in his mouth with a slap and continued in a bored tone.

"… Prone I am to injuring myself again, yeah, yeah!" And he took a swing of the broth. She felt the pink haired girl at her side twitch, but he mostly amused her really. Maybe it was because she was prejudiced to love this boy for his parents, but she just couldn't fault him for anything he did – he was just so lovable, like a cute puppy. The more time she spent with him the more she felt she really liked him. It was easy to like him… But then again, the feeling was fleeing, as one would love a puppy. She had just met him after all!

"How come you are so quiet?" Ayana had asked to the third member of the team, the one that looked slightly less colored than the other two, as silly as that might sound. She had tried to drag him in the conversation politely all during their dinner, but he was very short on his answers and aside from the little comments he made every now and then, he never said much.

"Oh, he is the resident jerk of the team." Naruto said offhandedly

"Naruto!" Sakura squeaked in surprise. She hadn't expected him to say that in front of the woman, but she should have known better – this was Naruto.

"Every team has one you see." Naruto said to Ayana, trying to look very serious but only managing to look goofy.

"He is right, every team has to have one. It's the silly thing that keeps the spirit of the team together, making all the stupid comments… But that is you Naruto." The black haired boy offered with an amused smile.

"Ok I'm going to put a stop to this before it starts!" Sakura said a little more loudly than usually and stood up, leaving the blond to glare at the other one's hollow smile. "Besides, we have to meet Kakashi-sensei for training in about 10 minutes, so we should really get going." This time she addressed Ayana.

"Oh… Kakashi Hatake is your team leader?" She asked, wondering how she had missed this particular detail. Surely, in the two hours that they had been talking the kids must have mentioned their teacher at some point.

"Yeah. You know him?" Naruto asked absent mindedly as he stood up.

"I know him better by reputation." She responded and as Jiraya was about to make himself known finally, and land a heavy hand on the blonds shoulder, Ayana spoke again. "I would like it if this lovely lunch we had was my treat, if that is all right." She said it as a suggestion, but there was something in her voice that left little room for objections. And just to make sure, she quickly changed the subject.

"You said you were going to train thought, did you not? What exactly do you train on?" She addressed this to Naruto, knowing that the boy would be the most likely to give a lengthy and detailed explanation, and given his rather short attention span, by the end of it he would have forgotten about her rather impertinent – since she was no more than a stranger after all - offer to buy everyone's meal.

"Oh, I don't really know. Kakashi-sensei has moods. But usually when we are together we spar in turns or set up makeshift battles in the forest and sometimes we practice with other teams. We're trying to make up for the time apart." Naruto paused and for the first time since she had met him, he seemed hesitating and a shadow passed his eyes as he glanced at Sakura. It was fast. After a second he was grinning again like mad to Ayana and inviting her along.

"Just to watch of course." He hastily added.

"Oh… I'd love to." And she really would. "But I have to present myself to the Hokage's office shortly. Maybe some other time… or if I get out early I'll come by anyway. I'm sure that if Hatake is your teacher, he makes you train until you pass out, so I suppose I have time." She smiled and bowed to them, her hands crossed over her front under the wide sleeves of her overcoat – a formal greeting that took a different meaning after all the informal time they had spent in each-others company… at least to her.

Then she turned to Jiraya and her playfulness with a great hint of mischief surfaced, so in contrast with her appearance. "I suggest you head in the opposite direction of the one I'm about to take, Jiraya. You never know what could happen if Tsunade _really_ gets her hands on you when she is in the peak of her anger." She saw the flicker of real doubt pass his eyes and then he smiled.

"Yes. Well, I just remembered a very important…"

"Don't say it. That way I'll be telling the truth to her, when I say I have no idea where you are." She smiled softly at the tall man before her and slipped gracefully out of the ramen stand after saluting and complimenting the owner, carefully slipping him the payment for their meal.

"Naruto, tomorrow we are going to practice a bit more on material manipulation and you can show me that combination you plan to insert into the Rasengan." The sannin put his hands behind his back and started to walk away, but Naruto wouldn't let him.

"Hey, you perverted sensei, is that another trick to get me to help you spy on the public bathhouse again? Cause if it is, you can forget about it!" He yelled, unconsciously rubbing the left cheek of his arse. The last time he had been there with Jiraya as he did his 'research', Naruto had been the pervert's distraction and he had gotten a kunai right in his arse for all his efforts.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that there are only civilians inside next time." Jiraya said with a chuckle as he suddenly disappeared from view.

"Hey wait!" Naruto despaired at the sudden reminder that he had to pay the bill again. And then, as if his brain slapped itself out of the daze, he remembered that that had already been taken care of.

"It was really nice of Miss Ayana to offer us dinner." He mused aloud as, together with his two teammates he headed for the training field outside the village.

"Yeah, she seemed really sweet. All the more reason to be surprised that she hasn't strangled Jiraya yet." Sakura added pensively and then turned to Sai, suddenly very angry. "And you! You were really rude the whole time. You know, if you want to form any kind of bond with people, you should at least talk back to them."

Sai smiled pleasantly, the gesture not reaching his eyes. "I know that, Hag. But there's som…" He hadn't expected the punch on his side that came a moment later and cut him short. He sucked in a breath and straightened, as if nothing had happened. "As I was saying before you clobbered me, there is something I don't like about that woman."

The other two turned to look at him and Sakura's retort was already forming, but h cut hr short this time. "You should have noticed that the whole time we were at the ramen stand we were being watched, by at least four pairs of eyes. And that when she went away, she was followed by them – in formation. She said she was in Konoha during the war, but she never mentioned where she was from. She tried to get information out of you the entire time, but never dissolved any of interest about herself. She was interested in your training but irritated at your display of strength. I mean you, Ugly. She almost squirted her eyes when you punched the sannin." Sai's tone was flat, but at every word, Sakura became less and less patient.

"I admit I didn't notice that we were being watched, but as for the rest, you are completely off track. Maybe she had bodyguards, so what? And she wasn't under interrogation, she was making conversation with us. As for the 'display of strength'," Sakura hissed at this point, glaring daggers at her ink-using teammate. "She could only have been upset because I punched her friend to the ground." She raised her eyebrow at Sai, as if daring him to say something to contradict her.

"Besides, she was with Jiraya, and she is obviously close to the pervert. So, that closes the argument." And she nodded to herself, as if nothing else could be added to the topic. But of course, she was wrong…

"Being chased by naked women is not as fun as I thought… Aww! Sakura! What was that for?"

_ 

Ayana walked slowly towards the Hokage tower. Ryo fell into step with her soundlessly.

"There was no reason to watch me all the time Ryo. I told you to get some rest." She had felt more than a little guilty that she was having a wonderful meal while her friends, her guards were on duty. After all, had they not traveled on the same track. They were supposed to be just as tired as she was.

"There was no need for such a thing." His deep voice was always soothing to her, but this time it irritated her to no end.

"Because shinobi don't need such petty things, right?" the deep rumble in his chest could be nothing other than a chuckle. He was laughing at her, the cheeky bastard.

"Did you at least eat something?" He sensed her irritation in her tone and responded a slow yes to placate her. No matter how much regality she could impose with her bearing and way of speaking, he knew her much deeper than that. Her temper was not to be provoked when it came to the well being of her men.

"Hina." The girl was by her side in an instant. "I would like you to take this day for yourself and do whatever you want to do now that you are back in your village. Kuri, you too, if you like." She turned to face the strawberry blonde girl that was almost as tall as she was. Her blonde eyebrows were furrowed, but the rest of the girls expression was as unreadable as ever. Pale green eyes met deep burgundy ones.

"I have almost nothing left here as well, but I still missed this place… though only god knows why. I should give you the choice to reacquaint yourself with your home. I would want that it it were me." When Hina was about to protest, Ayana stopped her with a look. "I know you my friend. You might as well admit it that you want to be alone right now."

"What I may or may not want has nothing to do with the duty I have pledged to honor." The blonde's voice was steady, almost cold. She was angry. Ayana sighed but Hina spoke again, this time more softly.

"And even thought I might want to make a little escape right now, I am more comfortable at the side of my teammates." Ayana blinked and then nodded at her friend. Sh looked over at Kuri, who just send her a lopsided smile and she felt compelled to smile back.

"Ok then…" And with that she picked up a faster pace.

The Hokage tower was busy. There were people running around, all of them carrying something, all hustling to somewhere. The closer they got to the main office, the more terrified the faces became. Ayana smiled to herself, still not knowing how the blonde woman had patience for a job like that – to be cooped up in an office, with seriously dangerous amounts of paperwork, people that complained on and on about everything and political intrigues right and left. No wonder that the workers looked so scared - Tsunade probably had a fit every 15 minutes… and Tsunade's fits were measured in Richter scale. It was a surprise the building was still standing.

Ayana almost laughed when she saw that even the couple of AMBU standing at the mahogany double doors that led to the Hokage's office were fidgeting a little. She paused in front of the doors. She knew that it was the AMBU that were supposed to open the door for her.

"Unauthorized armed shinobi cannot go in." One of the porcelain faces said coldly.

"I am aware of the procedure. My friends were going to leave as soon as I am inside." She saw the man nod and reach for the handle… and hesitate.

"You may want to return later. Just a friendly advice." He added hastily. Ayana smiled sweetly.

"Thank you, but lady Tsunade is expecting me."

The AMBU shrugged and opened the door. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He whispered and she allowed herself a chuckle.

The office was a mess – just like she expected it to be. And the blonde woman sitting behind the wide table full of files and papers, was looking a bit disheveled.

"Now what!" She roared and Ayana instinctively straightened her spine, holding her breath, tingling with anticipation and admittedly, a little fear too. Outside the double doors the AMBU winced and felt sorry for the knockout chick that could wouldn't survive the wild woman's hangover.

_

"That lazy old pervert!" Sakura hissed out as she delivered a strong punch at the practice log. She spun on her heel and sent a high kick after another and a series of fast punches, right where she imagined the heart of Kakashi Hatake would be. In any normal circumstances, practicing taijutsu with a lifeless log that couldn't fight back was rather uneventful and she didn't get much satisfaction out of it, but right now… she was learning that she had a newfound flare for sadism. Imagining that the log was their former sensei was turning out to be productive. He was almost an hour and a half late and she had been losing hr nerve since the first 24 minutes.

"Practicing patience my ass!" another series of blows. At the last kick, she leaked a little chakra into her leg and sent the fog flying and crushing in a tree so forcefully that the its trunk broke very loudly.

Sai and Naruto were sparing in the open field and at the noise they stopped and turned at her with questioning looks on their faces.

"You shouldn't be so violent Sakura. Someone might think you are trying to hurt them." at the sound of the slightly bored tone, she gasped and made a 180 degree turn, her eyes flashing with rage.

"You!" She jabbed a finger in his direction. "I thought you were done with this thing! But no, same old Kakashi sensei! You're _one hour, thirty minutes and 57 seconds_ late and you are officially the laziest most forgetful person I know!" And as soon as she was finished, her cheeks red with all the screaming and angry, she fell into a fighting stance.

"Now, let's fight." She said and he carefully put his little book away with a little smile underneath his mask.

_

Tsunade stared for a moment, during which, unknown to her, her face smothered out the anger and scowl, into a slightly blank expression, some unknown emotion swirling in her rare honey eyes. When she spoke again, she did so unbelievably quietly.

"You look so much like your mother that… But you have the shadow of that father of yours too." Ayana smiled, albeit she did so with a little bitterness. "Well then, have a seat." Tsunade gestured absentmindedly at the chair in front of her and turned her attention at the large cup of steaming liquid beside her. Ayana moved, but not to sit as she had been told. She went at the side of the desk.

"Are you not going to let me hug you hello, aunt?" And before the scary woman could move or speak, Ayana bent and sneaked her long arms around the woman's neck, hiding her face in the blonde locks that smelled of lavender, a tinge of sweat and sake. She smiled and inhaled more deeply as she felt the tenseness in Tsunade's frame melt a little and a pair of hands come to rest on her shoulders.

"Come now. You're going to ruin my hair." Ayana retreated with a playful grin, smelling the air around her long lost relative and then giving the woman a reproachful look.

"Oh, don't you look at me like that." Tsunade warned and Ayana rolled her eyes. She had long ago given up on criticizing anything. It not like they ever paid attention anyway, why waist her breath.

"I can fix that _hair_ of yours, if you're so concerned." Ayana said and got behind the chair as Tsunade eased herself in a more comfortable position. As the brunette threaded her long fingers in the pale locks, she massaged Tsunade's scalp soothingly the way she had been taught by the very woman that was now suffering the terrible hangover. Tsunade sighed and relaxed further in her touch.

"Is Shizune unwell? Usually she takes care of you when you are this disagreeable." Ayana spoke in the breathiest whisper, knowing she would be heard and appreciated for the low tone.

"Emergency at the hospital." Tsunade said, her eyes closed. Ayana felt immensely sorry that she couldn't so more than just a small massage for her aunt. But as it was, it was as far as she could go.

"I can help with the paperwork. I'm used to it by now." Tsunade smirked and hummed her response.

"How are things at the village?" Tsunade asked after a few more minutes. She realized, as Ayana's finger worked soothing patterns in her skull, that it was a great source of pride to become conscious that you have taught one to relieve pain so well. Shizune and Sakura surpassed themselves every day, but to have something as simple as a well-executed massage was sometimes heavenly. Even her pounding headache was fading – and she was grateful that she had showed a few tricks to Ayana so long ago.

"As well as they can be. I can handle the elders and the people love me, to my great surprise." Ayana spoke softly only to receive a snort from Tsunade, which was followed by a wince, and she added a little pressure on the back of the woman's head to relieve the pain. Tsunade's face smothered.

"Modesty doesn't suit you… especially when I know you work your ass off to be loved by those people."

"Yes, I do. It's only because of their support that I'm still alive." More silence followed as Tsunade's mind worked to go pleasantly blank for a few minutes and she sighed contentedly. Ayana knew that she could do this all day and not be asked to make herself scarce. Sometimes she thought that the only reason why Tsunade had ever showed her how to give a proper massage was that she herself loved to receive one so much.

"Bend foreword." She whispered and without one removing her hands from the woman's golden hair, she followed Tsunade's motion as she bent on her desk and rested her head on her forearms, as if she were sleeping. Ayana's gentle hands worked to the narrow shoulders and was surprised to feel the stiffness there. She began working her fingers through every muscle, as if she was straightening out a worn cloth.

"You have been overtiring yourself… or maybe just sleeping in very awkward positions." She couldn't help the little smirk on her lips as she said those words. Apparently the double meaning wasn't lost on Tsunade.

"_You_ have been spending way too much time with the toad pervert." She mumbled sleepily, with a lazy smile. Ayana chuckled softly. The silence in the big office was somehow soothing. It always ended up in such a silence whenever these two met each other.

"Why are you here, Ayana?" Tsunade's tone lacked the lazy underlining that it had had before, but her shoulders were void of any tension, so that should have been enough a hint for Ayana not to take these words the wrong way. But Tsunade felt her niece's touch falter for a brief second and almost regretted the boldness of her question. After so many years of being thrown from one place to another, the child always thought she was being kicked out when the issue of her residence came up.

"He called me." She responded simply. Tsunade had figured as much.

"Do you know why?"

"He hasn't told me yet." More silence. Tsunade breathed deep and sighed as she felt her back more relaxed than it had in weeks.

"I met Naruto Uzumaki today." Ayana offered tentatively, almost shyly, but Tsunade could hear the smile in her voice and she couldn't stop herself from reciprocating.

"Did you now…"

"He is _adorable_. Painfully like the two of them…" Her voice was steady as she spoke, but Tsunade didn't need to be a sannin to pick up the sadness in her voice. She hadn't known Minato or Kushina well enough to miss them so many years later at such a personal level… but she knew well enough what it meant to lose someone dear, so she could relate perfectly. She was about to say something that no doubt Ayana need to hear before she made a big mistake with the blond boy, but the three knocks on the wooden door carried to her as if someone had knocked her over the head with a hammer. She instantly straightened and Ayana felt the rigid tension come back to the softness of the blonde woman's back.

"What?" She barked out.

A trembling nurse came in. Ayana wasn't naïve enough to attribute her paleness to any biological problem.

"La-Lady Tsunade… Miss Shizune sent with this for you." The petite nurse with doll-like eyes left a small vial on top of the Hokage's desk and a thin chart that was no doubt the report on the poisoned AMBU that had been the emergency Shizune had to take care of. Tsunade snatched the vial and drank it in a breath, dismissing the nurse with one hand. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes as the Shizune's antidote worked its magic. When she opened them, Ayana was standing in front of her, looking at her expectantly. A sly smile crept on her lips.

"I seem to remember you offering to help with the paperwork."

Six hours and a splitting back-ache later she was released from the Hokage's office to go do whatever it was that she wanted to do. It was almost nine o'clock and twilight was having fascinating effects on Konoha's sky. With only Ryo by her side, she walked through the streets of Konoha, her legs leading her where her mind had been inkling to go all day.. She stopped at a flower shop and bought the biggest bouquet of white roses her arms could carry. When she was close enough to the memorial stone to see it – which was still quit far – she turned to the Captain of her team and before she could even say anything, he smiled.

"I will wait for you near the fountain." He said, and waited for her to realize where he was pointing at. Once she nodded, he made himself scarce with only a rush of air to show for it and she felt quite safely alone and darkness descended on the village fast. She straightened her clothes and hair and approached the stone nervously. It was silly really, it wasn't like she was going to meet some long unseen relative. It was just a stone – with names on it. She sighed dejectedly, at the pitiful state of mind she found herself. Wasn't one supposed to grow out of denial after some pinpointed age? Wasn't one supposed to grow up and face their fears in a brave fashion?

Apparently, being brave, age and experience didn't have much to do with each other. She smiled at the stone as if it was a long lost friend. Carefully, she decided the bouquet in two and put the flowers in one of the wooden cavities placed there for exactly that purpose, right where their names were. She took her time in arranging them so that they would look beautiful, remembering that Kushina always paid attention to details like that.

_Minato Namikaze_

_Kushina Uzumaki_

She kneeled in front of the stone and bowed her head to it, in prayer. She didn't know after how much time she got up. She had not felt the tears that had rimmed her cheeks either, but she guessed it was nothing new. Picking up the rest of the roses, she followed the names until she had to stop at the two other ones she was looking for. Carefully she kneeled again and put the flowers in the container. She cut her finger with one of the roses thorns this time and couldn't help but flinch. She put her finger in her mouth and sucked at the little drop of blood.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you." She said with a sly smile, looking at the name and remembering how odd she had thought he looked with those strange eye-protectors of his. "I'll leave it to Rin to smack you around the head for that." She reached over and touched his name with the tips of her fingers ,extending a promise to her dead friend. That she would come to visit every day, for as long as she was there.

Then she stood up and went to look for her Captain, who should be having a silent fit by now. She hadn't realized that she had been so long there. It was almost eleven o'clock and as she stood and started to move she realized how cold she had been and wrapped hr arms around her, rubbing up and down to create a little warmth.

Unknown to her, more than just on pair of eyes were following. 

****

****

AN: _So, what do you tink so far? How an I going? Do i have your interest, are are you bored to tears?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_**19 years ago**__… in a far, far away place in between the high mountains is where this tale begins. And so it does with a little girl, a princess on her own, that lived in a beautiful palace with her father, the king of the land. And what a land it was, so beautiful indeed and wild too, for those who were not born into it. But her father always told the little princess that nature was the one who gave birth to man and as man's mother she would always understand them, even if man sometimes lost his way. _

_The little princess took her father's words to heart and always she would demand a walk in the woods, in spring and summer, and winter too. Weather never mattered, even thought it should for they lived in the mountains and the cold could be harsh and unforgiving, the blanket of white snow inviting and deadly. But the little princess trusted the forest, like she would have trusted the mother she didn't remember. She was not afraid neither of cold nor of creature that dwelled within the woods. Because her father had said that_

"All creatures are our brothers and sisters in blood. We share nature, life and wisdom, so we respect each other. In every one of us, there is the spirit of an animal that will recognize its brother in one of the beasts of the forests. And when it does and you choose each other, you shall be bonded forever. You shall make each other warriors_."_

_And so the forest and all that dwelled within its reaches became the princesses best friend. But not all of the animals liked her. Only the bravest were not afraid. Many fled at the sight of her and she was somehow hurt. And thought a very small child, she could tell that there was something about her that scared the animals away. Even birds didn't sing quite so well when she was around. But it call came down to nothing for the princess, because at her four years of age, once in bed and rested, she had already forgotten her troubles and was ready the next morning to begin new ones. Her father loved her much, kissed her good morning and goodnight and told her stories about brave shinobi and kuinochi before she went to bed._

_She always wanted to hear the story of Konoha's Black Shadow before she closed her eyes. There were so many tales about her. How she was so smart and so beautiful and brave. But she liked them best, not because of this, but because she knew that thy told of the woman that had been her mother. _

_Thus grew the little princess, happy and good, and sometimes lonely. She spent the four years of her life thus… But her music was soon to change._

The girl hadn't graced them with a single word from the moment they had taken her under their care 24 hours ago. She didn't even seem to be in much contact with reality: she dint touch her food, not even to reach for her chopsticks, she never looked at them at all and she always stared in some undefined spot in the horizon, or hid under her heavy white cloak. The only presence of mind she had was when she held up a finger on her lips to make them stop talking when they tried to convince her to eat something, or when she turned her head the other way, as if that simple gesture would make their voices mute in her head. Or when she frowned and looked as if she were not on the same planet with them, let alone within hearing distance. It seemed that everything about her was transparent to her eyes and so were they.

She would do all these gests without saying a word and after the few first tries, none of them spoke to her anymore unless they really had to, but Obito seemed to be missing the point, as he always did. Whether he really didn't understand that the kid didn't want to communicate, or pretended not to understand, was a mystery. What became very clear to the team though, was that it would be far better for everyone if she simply gave a sign that she would hear and understand him, because he was starting to talk their ears out.

"Would you shut up! I can't hear myself think." Kakashi growled and Rin made a small puffing sound to show that she shared the opinion.

"Go to hell." Obito hissed, but shut up for a while anyway. He kept looking at the little gilr clad in white, as if she was going to spout horns and fangs and try to eat them alive. In a way, she was a very bizarre thing. She would eat, she would talk and she would bear being touched at all. The first time Obito had casually taken her arm when they were going up a hill, she had flinched so hard away from him that she had staggered and tripped over her feet and would have fallen badly had Minato Sensei not caught her in time. The only occasion she would accept being carried was when she started staggering from fatigue.

At first it had been curious for them, but after a while it got annoying. Not only was this mission turning out to be quite a nuisance, but their so called _package_ was slowing them down too much for their liking. They had another two days of traveling to do, but at this pace, it would take them double the time to reach Konoha.

The whole thing was slowly getting under Rin's skin. Even thought she had quite a lot of practice with young children, having had to babysit her multiple cousins loads of times for both her aunts and her three uncles – none of her relatives was quite this stubborn – or rude for that matter. There was just something in the girls demeanor that oozed unfriendliness in the air like a scent. She would wave their words away as if she were some kind of royalty or something. Of course, the way the child had held up a small white hand to silence Kakashi as he tried to offer her some dinner (something for which the kuinochi would have killed – or drastically hurt someone - for) had been just the tip that made the bow break.

"Listen up you brat…" But before she could continue, just one look from her sensei quieted her and even made her feel a little ashamed of her outburst. After that the girl got up, curled into a ball in her sleeping bag, and remained silent. Once they knew she was asleep, Rin wanted to somehow apologize for her little outburst, but the person that she should theoretically be apologizing to was sleeping and the one she wanted to apologize to, her sensei, would have told her exactly that, thus making her feel even more of a fool.

…

As the fire cracked and the four ninjas were silent around it, a small noise reached their ears. Minato was instantly on alert, but he knew what it was before he let his mind rove on too many possible threats. The bundle of cloth a bit to their left was shaking and sniffing, the movements a little too jerky to be conscious. She was having a nightmare, he was sure. His other three students had startled a bit in the beginning, but they had caught up to what was happening pretty fast and were staring intently at the fire, far too interested into the flames. They were all too self preserving to pry down on someone's agony like that, no matter how much of an irritation said person was. They simply ignored it and Minato knew that they would never mention it to her face, no matter how inconvenient the child made herself to them.

Her jerks became more spasmodic and her mumbles more distinguishable. But really, it was just one word repeated over and over again and he couldn't help but frown at the little girl's back. It was the first time either of them had heard her voice in the three-day long mission. She was calling for her father, and in that moment Minato knew that the girl had been whiteness to the assassination. He had had this idea from the beginning, judging from the obvious shock she was in, but now he was sure of it. She shook and sobbed.

And kept mumbling. Sometimes her voice came out as a supplication, sometimes as a question, but the desperation was always straining in her breathy pleas, as if she was looking for someone in the dark. She seemed to calm down for a few moments, perhaps she had waken herself and fallen back to sleep. But that was precisely when she started breathing hard choppy breaths.

"Minato-sensei… don't you think we should wake her?" Rin's questing was tentative at best and she watched her teacher shake his head a little as the muscles of his body tensed just a bit further. The girl was now perfectly audible.

"Papa…mmno-no! _No_!" that last sound was her little screech the night as she got up startled and facing away from the fire, staring into the darkness of the forest and breathing quite heavily. But, to the little creatures horror, this was not over, not even close. Her heavy breathing only got worse as she faced the darkness as if it was part of her nightmare.

"Stop it! _Stop_ it! _Enough_!" She sobbed and her little hands clawed everywhere they could reach – at her cloths, at her blanked, at the ground, at her face. She was recoiling from the darkness and would have fallen into the fire had Minato not caught her. He was surprised at how much strength she possessed as she clawed at him too, as he restrained her hands with one of his to stop her from scratching her face more than she already had. She was barely as long as his arm and yet she was about to wriggle free from his hold.

"A-all the bl-blood…blood ev-evrerywhere…everywhere… please, no more. Please…"

He did a hand sign quickly and she fell unconscious in his loosened hold. The three Chunnin were staring at her for a moment and then turned to the fire, trying not to make a big deal out of it, mostly for the girls sake. They all knew what it was to have nightmares. Each of them had seen someone die and had bled innumerous times. They knew what it was to wake up sweating and panting after a nightmare that send shiver up and down their spine. They were children of only 12, but they all had seen the aftermath of bloody battles, even if they had never faced the heat of one before. Being a shinobi meant giving up peaceful sleep. But war didn't discriminate between the lives of who it ruined. As shinobi, they had known what path they were taking. They had been warned of the risks and the consequences. In the academy, many hours were dedicated to making sure that the students who were there were fit for their purpose and that they knew exactly what they we getting into. All shinobi had a choice, they had chosen their destinies. It wasn't fair that the same anguish to be inflicted on those that had chosen a different path.

So, if possible, now that they had seen that little girl in such pain, Kakashi, Rin and Obito, they all were a bit less irritated at her than before, and thought that they could excuse her unfriendliness. Kakashi ignored her whimpers altogether, staring at the fire without really seeing it, the flames dancing in his glassy look. Rin had a sorrowful look on her face, deeply empathizing with the small bundle in her sensei's arms. She was so small and her size made her pleas and words about blood and carnage sound even more horrifying. Rin didn't remember ever being that fragile, but perhaps when she too had been four or five, she had been like that as well. It was Obito that got up and neared their teacher.

"I'll put her back." He said softly and extended his arms to take hold of the child's body. He had a strange look on him, one that Minato had never seen before and that made him frown. But he trusted his student implicitly and handed the little girl over into his extended arms. He watched as Obito held her so gently and put her down carefully and covered her meticulously, tucking the blanket under the makeshift mattress so that it wouldn't slip off the child's body during the night… and then it clicked for him. He took a deep breath and felt his shoulders slump slightly. He waited a few moments more before ordering everyone to retreat into their tent and taking the first shift guarding the perimeter.

Of course Obito would react like that. It hadn't been that long since his sister had been lost to high fever. She would have been five too now, had she not died. Minato sighed heavily, trying not to think about what exactly he had found when he'd found this girl. It had been a ghastly sight, but his sensei had been nonplused. Jiraya had run straight for the girl while Minato, for the first time in his shinobi career, had been frozen on the spot. Later he'd been grateful that they had left his team in the village. He didn't want any of them to have to be the bearer of such a gory show. He was sure that he would see it in his dreams, just like the girl had.

He'd been surprised when the Hokage had called him in for a mission. He was days away from going back to the frontier, and if the Hokage had a mission for him now, it mean that without a doubt there had been some intelligence behind the enemy lines. He was very surprised to see his old sensei was in the room with the third. It had been a while since he had seen Jiraya for the last time. He'd heard he was fighting up north but didn't know anything more. And he knew he was right because his sensei looked like hell. Imagine his surprise when the Hokage told him that he was to go into a mission of retrieval with his team and that Jiraya was to accompany him. There had been a strange look about the Hokage, he had been tense and his eyes frozen behind his Hokage hat… and Minato had known that this was not a usual mission. It was in fact so classified that Konoha didn't even want to admit to it. It was a covert mission. He had no doubt that Jiraya would fill him in on the details later, so when they had stepped out of the double door of the hokage office, Minato had been expecting some kind of explanation, but Jiraya had given him a look that spelled no here. They'd been in Minato's house when the sage had finally opened him mouth.

Minato had been right in assuming that there had been intelligence behind the enemy lines. The head of the Hidden Village of the Snow had been assassinated and his daughter too was in danger of meeting the same end, and they were to prevent it.

"Why should we be involved in such an operation? We don't need another enemy right now." Kushina had pointed out rather confused and Minato couldn't say he disagreed with her, but there was one more thing Kushina didn't know.

"We aren't, the mission is unclassified. Is this why the Hokage said this is to be a simple retrieval operation? A cover story?" At Minato's question Jiraya had nodded.

"Yes, we are to be very discreet, which is why you are going to take your chunnin team with you. They will serve as cover. But the retrieval is not a lie. We are going to bring the daughter of Snow's Head to Konoha. It's not safe for her there."

"But _why_? Why are we involving ourselves into something like this in the middle of the war?" Kushina was now exasperated and Minato could very well see her point. Taking that child to Konoha could directly involve the village in another conflict with whoever country was trying o assassinate her. God knew that nowadays village's declared war to one another for very little reason and Konoha was already at its limit.

"Because, the Land of Snow is our biggest ally and has been so for a long time. Its only because of their silent finances that we have been able to hold our own in this war." Jiraya looked at the surprise on their faces and smiled.

"The Kishimoto clan – the fighters of the mountains - they were originally one of the founding clans of Konoha. They were allies with the Senju and Uzumaki befor the founding of the Hidden Villages. When the First Hokage founded Konoha, the Kishimoto clan swore their loyalty to the village, but both parties preferred keeping to the Kishimoto clan on their current location – which was a wise decision. The mountains of the Land of Snow are full of gold, diamonds, and whatnot. It would be nonsensical to abandon such a favorable spot. They always were, and still are Konoha's biggest income producer… … There are even family ties between our villages. Sarutobi Sensei's wife is from the Snow, so it Hiashi's. Many of the tradesmen of Konoha are from the Snow. The wife of the Head of the Kishimoto clan was a famous kuinochi of the leaf…" Jiraya answered calmly as he sipped at his tea, thought his grip on the cup was suddenly very firm.

"But nobody in Konoha knows this. How is it possible that…" But Kushina stopped, suddenly very aware of why such a connection would be kept hushed.

"After what happened to Whirlpool, the Snow and Konoha decided to keep their ties low profile." Jiraya said softly and instinctually, Minato's hand searched for Kushina's and held on. He knew she had never fully gotten over the destruction of her village.

"The Snow is really a small village and even thought Kishimoto shinobi are fierce, they are few. They can't survive a war, the existence of the village depends of trade, and if those ties are cut, it will die. But more important still, if the village has been infiltrated, we cannot let the heir of the Kishimoto die. It would be too much loss."

Minato had known his sensei for a long time so it was easy for him to tell that there was something out of place about Jiraya. He was far too grave, hadn't smiled once since they saw each other. And something was frozen in his dark eyes. Was the war that horrible in the north? Minato know what destruction meant, what death was. He'd seen it, he'd been part of the battles against Iwa. He'd seen ugliness. But the frown in his sensei's face was something more, something else.

"Has the connection been made out? Is that why the head of the Kishimoto clan has been assassinated?" Minato asked, scanning Jiraya's face for his reaction. The frown on the sannin's face deepened.

"No. Iwa and have been trying to get hold of the Snow country for a long time now, but they always knew that it would be dangerous to attack the city. Despite being small, the Shishimoto are feared for their very distinct chakra manipulations and because of the territory, the village itself is very hard to get to… Besides, other natural elements protect the Snow country. My guess is that there has been some kind of coup, and the assassination was planned on the inside and Iwa is taking advantage of the situation. Any attempt on the life of the Head of the Kishimoto clan inside Snow would never succeed otherwise." Minato and Kushina nodded in understanding and Jiraya set down his cup and started to rise, surprising the both of them.

"Which is why we must remove the child. She'd be killed if she were to stay there and Konoha cannot afford to lose Snow to Iwa. The heir has to live to stake legal claim over the rule of the clan." He said as his two hosts rose with him. Minato intended to ask his sensei if he was all right, but Kushina beat him to it.

"Excuse me, where do _you_ think you're going?" She asked, her hands going to her hips looking at Jiraya with narrowed eyes. Jiraya looked perplexed for a moment and blinked a couple of times without knowing what to say.

"I was going home…" He answered simply, but the answer didn't please Kushina since her eyes narrowed almost into slits and Minato saw his sensei gulp down a little nervously. Minato didn't blame him, nobody wanted to be in the receiving end of one of his girlfriend's fits.

"Home? _Home_? Where is that, the motel around the corner?" She took her hands off her hips and crossed them over her chest, but for a moment Minato thought she was going to take a jab at his sensei and he saw that Jiraya thought the same because he took a wavering step backwards.

"We don't see you in months, you look like you're starved to death and you come here for tea and then say you're going _home_? Do you think I'm stupid or are you just trying to piss me off?" Apparently she expected an answer and Minato could have laughed at the face Jiraya was making had he not been afraid that would remind Kushina that he was there and then she might as well turn to him. But after that, Kushina turned to leave the room and she was halfway out when she started talking again.

"I'm going to prepare the guestroom for your staying. If you're not back with your things in 5 minutes, I'm going to come look for you Jiraya, and you really wont like that, because Ill drag you here by the hair if I have to."

Minato saw his sensei shake his head and smile for the first time since he'd seen him in the Hokage office… and he could swear that had he not been in love with Kushina already, he would have fallen hard for her in that moment.

"You know… there was a time when you respected me Kushina." Jiraya said with a smirk.

"Yes, well, we were all young and stupid once." She said and started climbing the stairs fast. Minato could practically hear the smile in her voice.

"When are we leaving?" Minato asked to his sensei, who had sat back down and from that simple motion Minato understood that he had no belongings to retrieve, which mean he had left the front on moment's notice.

"As soon as your charming other half lets us go." Jiraya said with a smirk, but then he sobered up very quickly. "In a couple of hours, after I take a little nap and you inform your team of the mission."

_Take a nap_… which mean that Jiraya had been traveling for days. The more Minato had known of this mission, the stranger it sounded.

But now that he was in the middle of the forest at night with the little girl huddled a few feet from him, he knew that he had been right when assuming that thought very important, this wasn't just a simple mission for Jiraya. He had been too tense, too quick to find the palace, too quick to react to the ghastly sight they had found inside. When Minato had been frozen on the spot, his sensei had rushed inside and collected from the bed what had seemed to be a bundle of clothes washed in blood, but that later turned out to be the little girl. Jiraya had washed her, cleaned all the blood from her while the child was as unresponsive as stone.

They were too late though because the Iwa assassins had been there before them, but they hadn't succeeded. They had been killed, their bodies were still in the room… or better to say, what was left of them, which wasn't much, except for the blood and a few pieces here and there. They'd been dismantled, as if a beast had gnawed at them, then tore them in pieces.

After handing him the girl and telling him to get off the village as soon as possible, Jiraya had disappeared for a few hours and then came back when Minato and his team were almost at the border of Snow.

"You have to move fast." He'd said. "I will draw them on the other direction to prevent them from finding you, but you must get out of this country before nightfall." And with that he'd disappeared again, but Minato wasn't worried about him. Jiraya was well capable to take care of himself. What he was worried about was the child. She was stubborn and more to the point, she was impassable. He didn't know what to do with her but he was pretty sure that were she to keep refusing food, she would faint on him… which wouldn't be such a bad idea, since that way they would make it back to the village much sooner.

_**Present day…**_

All her life she had arranged her bed so that the first rays of the sun would fall right on her face. So that she would rise with the sun. It was what her mother used to do and as a child, she had done it because she had wanted to connect through anything to that almost unknown entity called mother. But later on she started doing it just so that she could enjoy the feel of the sun on her face. She didn't always get up that early in the morning, she just laid in bed enjoying the warm caress of the sun on her face. It was like waking up with a kiss felt like.

That morning too, she woke when the first rays of the day crawled on her. But in Konoha even the sun was different. In the mountains, thought there was plenty of light and sparkle, most of the times there was very little warmth with the sun. The poor thing couldn't help it. Thought it hit the peaks of the mountains first, the air was too stubbornly cold to let him warm the earth as it wanted to. But here… here the sun's heat was blazing right from the beginning of the day. So when Ayana opened her eyes she had to blink several times and rub her eyes. She flopped on her back and sighed contentedly. Ah… this felt good. A lazy smile stretched her lips… And then she hopped off the bed as if the thing was on fire. But she was smiling a great deal as she got ready for her day, something she hadn't don't in quite a while. Which couldn't fail to be noticed by her ever-dutiful guards.

"Ayana?" Hina's blonde had poked inside and looked around for her friend. Ayana never made noise when she got up in the morning. In fact she rarely made noise when doing anything. So it was quite a shocker to hear her hurried steps bouncing up and down the room. Hina raised an eyebrow as she watched Ayana shed her robe on the floor and start trying on one dress after another.

"Is everything all right?" She asked, the doubt thick in her tone.

"Everything is fine. It's a beautiful day don't you think." Ayana said with a big smile. She felt as if she was on vacation and even thought she knew that there was no particular reason to be so excited about this, she couldn't help what she was feeling. What was it that she was so animated about anyway? Not even she could answer that to herself, but she didn't really care.

"Aha… Yeah, whatever." Hina said as she closed the door and muttered something that sounded terribly like '_weirdo'_. Ayana chuckled and as she took a deep breath, she felt so good, she was almost to the point of bouncing up and down for no good reason. She put on a light-peach colored dress - a color that she thought suited her skin tone rather well – with short sleeves and a hem that danced a few inches above her knee. With her soft leather boots on and a jacket around her shoulders, she felt freer than she ever had in years. It was amazing what a different outfit could do to change your spirits. When looking so less formal, so normal, helped her feel more normal, it would definitely help per mingle more easily.

It wasn't that what she wore changed her, but sometimes, when people have a hard time fitting in, changing your appearance in order to make yourself one of the crowd is the first step – the easiest, most superficial (and also just as effective) – towards really becoming normal, or whatever you want to become. Fake it till you make it is not just something they say to you shut you up. It sounded so terribly deceiving, as if you were being a hypocrite or a poser, but the fact was that truth is, in most cases, not very pleasant. No matter how much they try to make themselves appear good and faultless, not matter how truly good spirited a person can really be, they cannot help but to judge someone when they first meet them. It is natural. It shouldn't be viewed as a bad thing. Opinions may change, but first impression ar what they are. You estimate the stranger in front of you and if you don't like something about them… then you don't. You don't have to make an essay on reason and sensibility of why you don't like them. Even thought you might be very unreasonable and insensible in your opinions, it is your choice and it's your right to have one.

Ayana had learned this firsthand many times, sometimes quite… brutally. It was very hard to change first impressions, so she always tried to save herself the trouble and crate good ones, and since so many first impressions were based on looks alone, she made of point in always looking hr best for the occasion. In a way, what she did was take away from people the opportunity to judge her severely or to find her appearance lacking in any way by being always in the golden middle ground… or at least always appearing to be so. In most cases, when one is in a new area where one is not known by the native villagers, as it had been her status many times, it was always easier to let people assume things based on her appearance, and let them believe what they wished about her. In the end, to them she always turned out to be what they _thought_ she was, so why bother letting them know her true self.

_Why am I thinking about this?_

She confusedly asked herself. She had been staring into her own reflection for a few moments, and her mind had flown to her other experiences she had had when she was the new arrival in town. This was not one of those times though. She wasn't dressing to impress anyone. She was dressing down to mingle and that was the difference that had caught her attention. She supposed that when one finds himself a place to call home, than he can behave according to his homes customs everywhere else he goes. After being homeless for long, after so many years of playing masquerade everywhere she went, it was interesting to experience this feeling of freedom: she could go to a place and be herself. It felt … foreign as a feeling, but it was comfortable and certainly felt good, so she enjoyed it.

She strolled out of her room and found her team outside in the hall waiting for her already. She noticed with satisfaction that they were all wearing civilian clothes and that their weapon were nowhere to be seen (which mean nothing at all, they could be full armed with enough firepower to invade a city for all she knew).

"Ok guys, we're going to do this properly. You know the rules: We'll all listen to our teachers and no fighting. Play nice to the other kids, and no stabbing them with sharp things, unless of course they want to fight you first. Then you'll have to kick their butt."

"Very funny, Ayana." Ryu said and in his deep voice and serious tone it sounded almost grave, but she caught the side of his lips twitching.

"And no killing unless you really, _really_ have to. Remember we are guests here after all, so we have to mind our table manners."

"Sure. We _always_ follow the rules, don't we boys?" Hina said with a smirk and Kuri and Ando snickered. "Do we have to call you Your Highness as well?".

"I'd never tell you to call me something so boring. Try something more original Hina."

"How about 'great master'?"

"Too plain."

"Maybe 'my liege' would please you?"

"Too stuffy." They were climbing down the stairs and so very casually, Ryo had started walking before her while Kuri and Ando fell into step with her at both her sides. Hina was a breath behind her, close enough so that she could hear the smirk in her tone.

"Goddess divine?"

Ayana made a face and Ando chuckled at her. "Too bohemian. Have you been reading those trashy romance novels again?" Not even Ryo could keep a straight face at that and as the boys started laughing, Hina glared her the back of Ayana's head fiercely.

"_Fine_. I'll settle for 'bitch from hell', but it's your own fault, I gave you options!"

You didn't think you had it in you to run in the face of danger. You didn't think it was something your muscles were able to do, as in physically able to execute the act of fleeing at the sight of a truly difficult situation. You pop away plenty of times when it's your turn to pay for lunch or when you really want to get out of something boring, but you had never fled at the sight of real danger before. You knew what it felt like to be a coward thought, so when the feeling returned you recognized it well. And it agers you that she could provoke that kind of feeling in you. And then you were angry at yourself for letting the mere sight of her cause such a stir. She is in no position to affect you this deeply! She is nobody! A shadow of the past, nothing more than that! And yet, you seem to find it hard to bring yourself to your usual level of calmness and passivity. … and all the while you think this you know that you are in denial. You are smart enough to know the truth and your memory, which despite all the time passed, is still fresh. She is not nobody. However, she _is_ a shadow of the past, and she should have stayed there – in his past.

So what was she doing here, in Konoha of all places? She hated this village! She'd even tried to destroy it once. Why was she even allowed inside the gates?

How could she have sprung up on you like that? It was unconceivable! Things like this didn't happen in the real world. It had been too sudden, you were too surprised, that's why you reacted so violently to the sight of her… And again, you sounded as if you were making excuses for yourself, even thought you know they were the truth.

The village could be attacked this very moment, Sasuke could come back, Tsunade could stop gambling, Jiraya could make a monk out of himself… All these things have a percentage of chance of happening. A small, very thin one between zero and one, but it was still a real chance. Your brain had calculated these odds more than once. You knew your mind was capable of such estimations. You are a genius by all IQ standards, thought you never believed intelligence could be measured like that, and more to the point, you haven't considered yourself as such for long, long time now… But, stands to facts that it wasn't because of lack of intelligence that you have underestimated these odds so greatly. Then what was it? Why were you so surprised? So shocked? Shocked enough to disappear. You saw her and your brain haywire, making your system go insane, instant overload. So you didn't the smart thing and proofed your sorry ass out of there… which, you had to admit, gave you a lot of credit. There is some comfort in knowing that your reaction wasn't wholly instinctual. That you thought about it in the millisecond your brain could function before you actually executed the action of disappearing. There is consolation in logic. There is power in control, an you were in control of yourself – and this was a big thing for you. It would have been unacceptable to be completely concurred by the mere sight of an old friend that decided to reappear after years of nonexistence.

But now that you think back at it, in the situation you'd been in, it was a miracle you formed the right hand-sign. It really pissed you that you had to be affected to that point, but it was a fact. You were and that was the end of it, there was nothing you could do about it but blame it on the circumstances. After all, it doesn't happen every day that a man gets to see, after more than a decade, one of the few people he…

_Oh, fuck, no._ You're so not going there. Not even thinking about it. You don't need to fuss over this, you need to get it out of your head. You need to be yourself and there is no better way to do that than get yourself assigned on a mission, as far away from possible from Konoha. So it really is no surprise that the place you teleported yourself to is the top of the Hokage tower. Again you are relieved to see that your brain is functioning. That what happened was a short lapse and nothing more. That you are fully thinking at the moment. What is not so pleasurable is the fact that what you were thinking was to get away from her… so you see, you hadn't rally been in true control had you?

You rush through the halls, and it's such a new thing to those around you that they look at you almost frightened. If You are rushing it must mean something terrible has happened, since you never rush to anywhere. And they would be right to assume that, thought the disaster hadn't reached a '_natural catastrophe'_ proportion yet. Or maybe they are simply getting away because you are throwing off dangerous aura like crazy. That s because your pissed of course. But its yourself you want to skin alive so there isn't much you can do about it.

You knock on the Hokage's door briskly. You head an even more terse "What!" from the inside that it's the equivalent to '_Someone better be dying'_ for the blonde woman sitting behind that desk. She hates loud knocking. Don't knock at all, she says, if you're going to do it as if someone was banging your head against the door. Of course, nobody was stupid enough to point out to her that if she didn't drink quite so much, she would have a hangover and _then_ she wouldn't be disturbed by the slightest noise – but telling the hokage this while she was experiencing such a hangover would mean you had an urgent death wish. And the blond woman would be quick to deliver.

You open the door and find that you are being glared at and to your endless bad luck, right now looking in the eyes of the Hokage is like looking in Medusa's eyes and hoping not to get petrified. But you've had it with petrifying experiences for the day and you wont back off this one.

"I was wondering whether or not there are any missions available Hokage-sama." You say as politely as you can.

"You must be out of your mind." The woman growls and you find it hard not to take a step backwards. Ah, fuck, you should have knocked more lightly. Too late to turn back now…

"I'm sorry for dis…"

"Do you have a death wish?

"Anything would do, really. Even A-class." You say as quickly and almost whispering. You know that she heard you because her threat comes to a halt and she purses her lips scanning you through narrowed eyes. You are grateful that she doesn't know you that well right now, especially because she is looking at you as if trying to determine exactly what is in your brain this moment. Her stare is so fixed that you are even more grateful only a little piece of your face is showing.

"If there was an open mission for you, you would be notified. Now get the hell out before I change my mind and actually put you out of your misery." She sais and you know that she means it, so you sigh dejectedly and retreat, making sure not to slam the door. It had been stupid to come here, when you knew there would be no spots open. Konoha couldn't afford to have all its troops out of the village, that was why missions were taken in rotation. It was one of the least intelligent things you have ever done, and considering the Hokage's state, it counted as another suicide attempt on your part. So really… it wasn't that far out of character, was it?

You sigh heavily as you walk through the corridor more slowly this time, and wonder what would Obito have done had he been in your place. Ah, Obito… the fucker must be having such a great laugh right now.

_Having fun, huh! You think this is funny?_

Alright. Fine. So this was your new situation and as a good ninja that you are you are going to face it head on. Yes, your first instinct was to run, but that is past now, because there is on way to go. You know that had you had an opening, even a small one for leaving the village, you would have taken it, but this knowledge only makes you feel a little like a coward. Because you know, and you have proved so, that as a shinobi and a man of free will, you would give your life for your duty to your village or for your teammates. But you can't claim that you possess the same focus and clearness of mind when it comes to more complicated things… things like _her_! You don't have the patience for it and thought you are both much older than you first were, and you are a much changed man, you still don't want to come face to face with your past. Too many mistakes have been made, too many things broken. Things that cannot be set straight ever again.

In truth, today morning when you saw her, it was not her face you saw, it was not she who made you want to run away. You know this well. It was all that she represented, all the things that had happened back then. It was all you remembered when you saw her. It was your past that made you run. Your faults, her faults. The living memory of the war you have been thought was as clear in her as if it were written on her skin. It would have been easier if she were just herself, but she was not, at least not to you. Just like a person connects certain feelings to a certain place or object, you have connected certain memories and events to her – even if said events had nothing to do with her in the first place. But who you were back then, whoever you were, you shared it with her. Perhaps back then, it was done out of stupidity, or maybe because she was a link to the time Obito was alive, most probably because you were so drunk with joy because of the ending of the war that you didn't really care who you slept with… And why should you have cared? You were actually smashed half the time and stoned the other half.

In the end, it didn't matter. You wouldn't let it matter, because there was nothing to be embarrassed about… or scared of. Because you know that it is all in your head.


End file.
